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HOW TO MAKE YOUR WARDROBE ECO FRIENDLY AND SUSTAINABLE

Wednesday, 7 June 2017

001. Hey hey! A little over a month ago I wrote a blog post about sustainable and eco friendly fabrics (find it here if you need to catch up). An despite me abandoning this blog and going on hiatus for a month, I am back to write the follow up post- HOW you can incorporate these values of sustainable and eco friendly fabrics into your wardrobe (I promise it's not as hard as it sounds!).

002. Now, after reading the previous post about sustainable fabrics and materials, I'm sure you're all aware of how good they are for the environment and good for your body too. However, I'm not a crazy person or a rich person either, so I don't expect you or even myself to go out there and buy a whole new wardrobe filled with fancy eco fabrics that are sometimes hard to find. My number one rule for having an ethical, sustainable and eco-friendly wardrobe is NEVER buy anything new- unless you support the company's ethics, practices and transparency 100%. There are SO many clothes and goods already in circulation here on earth that we honestly do not need to be buying anything brand new. In my opinion, if the clothing already exists and isn't something new off the shelf, its okay if it isn't made out of 100% eco friendly materials. You are helping the earth just by using something already in existence, and not something new that requires new resources. This little shopping technique will help you keep a clear conscious about everything you wear and keep your wallet nice and full too!

003. Why secondhand? We live in a society of consumerism where we are programmed to always be wanting more- something new, something better. Fast fashion is a HUGE issue which is causing HUGE environmental damage to the earth. The fashion industry is the SECOND largest polluting industry in the world (following right behind the oil industry). This is without even going down the path about the ethics and social concerns involved with producing these clothes too- it's no surprise that garments workers in this industry are more often than not exploited and taken advantage of. With all of this information, IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE to be buying new things! We are so lucky to have masses of clothes that are already made and funky as hell- just waiting to be given a new life.

004. Where can I find pre-loved clothes? EVERYWHERE. As someone who primarily shops second hand, I'll give you the low down on where to find the coolest things for the cheapest prices. If you don't mind having a dig through mountains of clothes op shops and markets will become your new best friend. This is hands down the cheapest way to shop, although it does require a bit more effort and time. Next up we now have the option to do all this shopping from the comfort of our own home or bed, thanks to the internet. Hit up Depop (an app for selling their pre-loved clothes), eBay, Gumtree or Facebook buy/swap/sell clothing pages- there will be ones in your area or even ones for specific brands you might be after all going at cheap affordable prices. Finally you can always hit up a vintage store. These are usually a little more pricey but the quality is usually top notch and you can find them in your local town, on Etsy or just online. I run my own little pre-loved fashion store, Shop Frockled, where I actually price everything at super affordable prices. I want ethical and sustainable fashion to be accessible to everyone and would never want to deter anyone from making better choices for the environment by hiking my prices up to a crazy level! If you start looking you will realise that pre-loved fashion and clothing is everywhere and you can STILL look badass, while saving the earth on the side.

005. Finally, if you still can't find what you are looking for after trying all the other methods, you can buy a brand new product. My personal rule for this is only buying from brands that align with my beliefs. I want them to have transparency about their production, use materials which are good to the earth and have ethical practices overall. Finding brands that fit this criteria can be even more difficult than finding something secondhand, which is good because it helps deter me from making impulse or unnecessary purchases. I find that the 2017 Baptist World Aid Fashion Report is a good place to start, then maybe magazines like Peppermint or the blog/app Good On You. The internet is your oyster and you can find anything if you put your mind to it.

006. I'll leave you with a few of my favourite stores as of late, that seem to fill all the boxes and get ticks all round. Boody (bamboo basics), Nico (more basics), Friday Hut Road (beautiful natural hemp pieces) and VegeThreads (sustainable basics for everyone). There are so so many more but these are just from the top of my head! More and more ethical and sustainable small clothing businesses seem to be popping up, which I think indicates that there is a positive shift of consciousness happening. People are becoming more aware of what they are consuming and how.

007. I apologise that this post seems to have gotten a little out of hand and is now SUPER long. Hopefully it was helpful in some way and inspired you to maybe tweak your shopping habits a little to keep our planet happy and healthy!